Election Candidates, their spouse and the dependents will have to declare their source of Income says Supreme Court

A Bench of Justices J. Chelameshwar and S. Abdul Nazeer delivered a landmark judgment on candidates conducting elections on Friday. The Supreme Court has ruled out that every candidate is supposed to disclose his, his spouse's and his dependents' source of income. This judgment would be a major step in bringing about a complete transparency in the election process. The Court also stated that candidates must disclose their stake in any government contracts. The bench stated that it is a part of the fundamental right of the voter and is entitled to have all the relevant information about the candidates at an election. The court opined that “ the information regarding the sources of income of the candidates and their spouse and dependents would certainly help the voter to make an informed choice of the candidate to represent the constituency in the legislature. It is, therefore, a part of their fundamental right under Article- 19(1) (a)” . The voters have the right to know the material information regarding their candidates so that they make a reasoned and an able choice. The court has given a direction to the centre to amend Conduct of Election Rules and Form- 26 to enable the provision regarding declaration of source of Income. If an electoral candidate does not declare his source of income as stated above, the same would fall within the ambit of corrupt practice under the heading & lsquo undue influence' of the Representation of People Act leading to the disqualification of the candidate if elected. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by the Lucknow based NGO, Lok Prahari. The judgment would keep the legislators' wealth and income in the public domain and would help empower the common man by enabling him to make an informed decision. It must be noted that there have been ample cases in the past wherein ministers have been found in wealth disproportionate to their source of income.